This quick gluten-free pizza crust is easy to make, sturdy, crisp-edged, and tender-chewy inside. The dough is perfect for pizza, flatbread, and calzones!
I’m no stranger to serving up delicious gluten-free pizza crusts, like sweet potato pizza crust, Keto zucchini pizza crust, and low-calorie potato pizza crust. However, if you’re craving traditional pizza, this gluten-free pizza dough recipe delivers!
Made with a carefully tested flour and starch blend (no gums!) that mimics the job of wheat flour and gluten, this homemade gluten-free pizza dough provides consistent results every time. It’s vegan, freezer-friendly, and easy to customize in flavor, size, and thickness—perfect for pizza night.
You might also enjoy my gluten-free, vegan deep-dish pizza or vegan calzone.
Gluten-Free Pizza Dough Ingredients
For the full ingredients list, measurements, complete recipe method, and nutritional information, read the recipe card below.
- White rice flour: Use finely ground flour for a light, crisp, neutral base without grittiness.
- Tapioca flour: Adds stretch, chew, and browning to this quick gluten-free pizza dough. Potato starch or arrowroot starch may work but gives less chew.
- Cornstarch: Adds lightness and crispness. Potato starch (not potato flour) also works, producing a softer crust.
- Psyllium husk powder: Mimics gluten, binding the dough and adding elasticity and chew. Use 2 tsp powder or 4 tsp whole husks.
- Salt: To season the dough.
- Warm milk: I used plant milk, like soy (which adds more body), almond, cashew, or oat milk, to make a gluten-free vegan pizza crust. Make sure it’s lukewarm (35-40C/95-104F).
- Active dry yeast: This provides rise and classic fermented pizza flavor. Instant yeast also works and doesn’t even require proofing, though you’ll only need 1 ¼ tsp.
- Olive oil: Adds moisture, tenderness, and flavor. Extra-virgin olive oil adds maximum flavor, though regular olive oil or avocado oil will work.
- Sugar: I use maple syrup/agave, though granulated sugar also works, to feed the yeast.
Pizza Toppings
Most pizzas contain three topping elements
- Pizza sauce: Tomato-based, cream sauce, avocado pesto, keto BBQ sauce, etc.
- Cheese: Like vegan mozzarella cheese, quick vegan cheese sauce, or a blend of melty cheeses.
- Toppings: Protein (vegan pepperoni, shredded ‘chicken’, tofu, etc.), vegetables (mushrooms, peppers, onion, olives, spinach, tomatoes, etc.), jalapeños, fresh basil.
How to Make Gluten-Free Pizza Crust
For the consistently best gluten-free pizza crust recipe, weigh the ingredients with a kitchen scale.
- Warm the milk to 95–104°F/35–40°C. Mix with active dry yeast, oil, and maple syrup; proof 5–10 minutes until foamy.
- Whisk the rice flour, tapioca, cornstarch, psyllium husk powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- Stir in the yeast mixture with a wooden spoon. It will look too wet initially but thickens within a minute or two.
- Mix/knead the dough by hand for several minutes to fully combine, then form into a dough ball. It should be soft, moist, and slightly sticky.
- Add to a bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and leave to rise for 30-60 minutes in a warm, draft-free location. It won’t double but should be visibly puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 390°F/200°C and transfer the dough to a parchment paper-lined baking tray.
- Use your fingers to press the dough to your preferred shape, aiming for ⅛–¼ inch/3–6mm, leaving a thicker rim. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
Top and Bake
- Mix the tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, pepper, dried oregano, and onion and garlic powder (or use your preferred pizza sauce).
- Spread it over the pizza, leaving a 1-inch border. Optionally drizzle olive oil on top.
- Bake the gluten-free pizza crust for 10-15 minutes. Add cheese (e.g. vegan mozzarella) and any toppings. Bake another 10-15 minutes until crispy and golden-brown.
The thickness of the dough, your oven, and the amount of toppings can impact baking time.
- Slice, optionally garnish with fresh basil, and enjoy!
Storage Information
Make ahead: To add more flavor, cold proof the dough in the fridge for 12-24 hours, then bring to room temperature before shaping.
Store pizza: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Reheat: Reheat the gluten-free pizza in an oven or air fryer for several minutes for the best texture.
FAQs
Can I use all-purpose gluten-free flour?
Possibly, but I wouldn’t replace the rice flour + starches 1:1 without testing, as many blends already contain starches and gums, so using it alongside psyllium could make the dough gummy.
The best gluten-free pizza crust recipes should contain a balanced blend of flour, starch, and binder. Too much of any will throw off the texture.
Can you flavor pizza dough?
Of course! Add garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, chili/cayenne, and even vegan parmesan/nutritional yeast.
For dessert pizza, increase the sweetener slightly and add vanilla and/or cinnamon.
Why is my gluten-free pizza dough sticky?
This is actually fairly normal. If it’s overly sticky, let it rest for 10-15 minutes for the psyllium to hydrate. If still sticky, try using wet/oiled hands rather than adding lots of flour.
How To Use Gluten-Free Pizza Dough?
Use it for pizza, mini pizzas, small Calzone-style pizza pockets, breadsticks, garlic bread, or pizza rolls.
Top Recipe Notes
- Weigh the ingredients: The flour and starch ratios are important.
- Use the right ingredients: Choose fine rice flour and psyllium powder. Grind whole psyllium first if needed.
- Don’t add too much flour: Gluten-free dough is naturally softer and stickier than wheat dough.
- Check the yeast: If it doesn’t foam, replace it and start again.
- Don’t toss the pizza: Instead, press it into shape (wet/oiled hands help), as the gluten-free dough doesn’t stretch like wheat dough.
- Adjust thickness: Aim for ⅛–¼ inch/3–6mm for a thin to regular crust.
More Gluten-Free Vegan Pizza Recipes
- Pizza ring with spinach
- Avocado chickpea pizza
- Mexican pizza with refried beans
- Vegan cheesy breadsticks
- Vegan pizza rolls
- Vegan calzone
If you try this easy gluten-free pizza crust recipe, I’d love a comment and ★★★★★ recipe rating below. Also, please don’t forget to tag me in recreations on Instagram or Facebook with @elavegan #elavegan – I love seeing them.
Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 cup (160 g) white rice flour
- ½ cup (60 g) tapioca flour
- ⅓ cup (40 g) cornstarch or potato starch
- 2 tsp psyllium husk powder or the double amount of whole husks
- ⅓ tsp sea salt
Yeast mixture:
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp (200 ml) warm plant-based milk
- 1 ½ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ tbsp (10 g) maple syrup or agave syrup
Toppings for Pizza Margherita:
- ⅓ cup tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp olive oil (optional)
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Onion powder and garlic powder to taste (optional)
- Fresh basil leaves to taste
- Easy vegan cheese sauce or vegan mozzarella (see recipe notes)
Instructions
- You can watch the video in the post for visual instructions.Heat the plant-based milk in a saucepan for a few seconds until it's lukewarm (not hot!) about 35-40 degrees C (95-104 degrees F). Add all other ingredients for the yeast mixture and set aside for about 5-10 minutes to proof the yeast. If it starts to get frothy, then the yeast is still active and usable.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and stir with a whisk.
- Add the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon. The dough might seem too wet in the first few seconds but that will change within a minute.
- Knead the dough with your hands for a few minutes and then form a dough ball. Cover the bowl with a clean damp kitchen towel and set aside (preferably in a warm place) for about 30-60 minutes. Here is how the dough looked before:
- Here is how the dough looked after rising:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F).Place the dough onto a lined/greased baking tray and use your fingers to spread the dough into your preferred shape. Let it rest again for about 10 minutes, and prepare the toppings meanwhile.
- Mix the tomato sauce with the tomato paste, salt + pepper, dried oregano, and onion + garlic powder (optional). Put the sauce onto the dough and use the back of a spoon to spread it evenly (leave out 1 inch from the edges). Drizzle olive oil on top (optional).
- Bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Add dollops of my easy vegan cheese sauce on the pizza and put it back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes (or until crispy).
- Cut the pizza into 6-8 pieces, add fresh basil and enjoy!
Notes
- For the cheese, I used my easy vegan cheese sauce recipe without the nutritional yeast flakes, because my brand turns the sauce yellowish. And I added 1 1/2 tsp of psyllium husk powder which adds great texture (similar to mozzarella).
- This pizza crust recipe has been on my blog since April 14th 2018. It was updated on November 5th, 2026, with a new video and photos and minor text revisions. The recipe itself remains unchanged.
- Nutrition facts are for one piece of pizza (without the toppings) when you cut the pizza into 6 large pieces.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
„Simple and Delicious Vegan“ Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
Hi Ela,
I substituted 50g White Rice Flour with 50g of Almond Flour, used Potato Starch and added a tsp of golden Flaxseed Meal. I found the dough a little wet, so had to add more white rice flour. This pizza was amazing! My husband said he couldn’t tell the difference between wheat and GF pizza! This is going to be my go-to recipe in future! Thanks!
That is amazing! I am so glad it turned out delicious. 🙂
Hi, I love your site! I wanted to ask about the crust though. It came out VERY dense, heavy, brick like. It was hard to slice. I can’t figure out what I did wrong??? I crave a soft pizza crust. Your photo looks like one. I would love any insight. Thank you 🙂
Hi, this never happened to me. Do you maybe have a very strong oven or baked it too long? You could try to reduce the oven temperature slightly next time, make the crust thicker (don’t roll it out too thin), and bake it shorter. I hope this helps! 🙂
Would it be ok to use water instead of milk?
I think that should be ok. 🙂
HI!! Does it works without the psyllium? or how can it be replaced?
I do not recommend it! You could try ground chia seeds but the result won’t be as good.
Can i bake the base in advance?
I never tried it, so I am not sure how it will turn out. It tastes the best fresh out of the oven. 🙂
I absolutely love this recipe! My partner (a celiac) and I (a vegan) have made this dough many times since discovering the recipe a few weeks ago!
We had a craving for pizza this evening and decided to use the 2X feature on the recipe for easy measurement calculations. However, our pizza dough was a completely different texture and flavour! We took a few minutes to review our steps and had a look over the recipe…and figured it out! It seems that when using the 2x and 3x feature, the imperial measurements increase whereas some of the metric measurements remain the same. We felt quite silly for not noticing this earlier. In saying this we cannot wait to make the recipe again! SO YUMMY!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Emily! This is a new feature and I didn’t notice the mistake. I will change it, thanks for letting me know!
I am so happy you love the recipe. 🙂
Edit: It’s fixed now. 😀
Hello! This recipe sounds amazing, can’t wait to try it tomorrow! However, I got a quick question: since I’m not vegan, can I use regular cow milk instead of plant-based? Thank you so much!
Hello, yes, that’s fine, Ioana.
I made this pizza crust several times now and it is so good! This is definitely the best pizza crust recipe out there! The only changes I made were using a bit less yeast and I also used an almond/coconut blend milk.
Thank you!!!
So happy you love it, Kristy! Thanks so much for your amazing feedback! 🙂
Can i substitute tapioca flour with arrowroot powder?
Hi Nisha! Yes, that should be fine. 🙂
Hi Ela,
Sorry if this question has been asked before but I’m wondering if I can pre-make the dough, maybe the day before or in the morning, and put it in the fridge to use later? My kids absolutely love this recipe and its going to replace our weekly takeaway pizza. Thanks so much for your awesome recipes.
Hi Roslyn, I never tried it but it might work. 🙂
Thank you sooo much!
Is the best gluten free pizza dough ever!!!
????????????????????????????
I am so glad you love it, Kasia. 🙂
Hi Ela,
I want to try this recipe but I dont want to use yeast. Could you please suggest a substitute? Thank you in advance.
Please check out my yeast-free pizza dough here: https://elavegan.com/sweet-potato-pizza-crust/ 🙂
Hi !! Can I replace while rice flour with brown rice flour? Thaaaaanks
Hi Eliana, that should be fine! 🙂
I thought you made mention to NOT use brown rice flour as it would be too heavy and not rise. ????
Hi Dana, you are replying to an old comment from last year. At that time I thought it should be fine to use it, but this year someone didn’t have much luck with it. 🙂
I made this with store bought gluten free flour and it came out perfectly! I’ve never had gluten free pizza that had a thick crust so this was a delicious change and was so easy! I will definitely be making this again ????. Do you think this would be bake-able as a bread loaf? Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Taylor! I am so glad the pizza crust turned out amazing. 🙂
I am not sure if it will work as a bread loaf. However, I HIGHLY recommend my gluten-free bread recipe. It has lots of 5-star reviews and is seriously incredible. You can find the recipe here: https://elavegan.com/gluten-free-vegan-bread/ 🙂
How many cups of gluten free flour did you use? I was going to do the same amount added up?
I have everything except tapioca flour. What can I substitute the tapioca flour with?
Hi Ela,
I tried making this dough four times today and each time all I get is a crumbly dough that doesn’t stick together. I used everything in the recipe other than coconut milk which I substituted for high fat almond milk. Everything was measured to a T. I don’t see how you and others had success with this recipe. Sigh!
Carolyn
Hi Carolyn, that’s really weird. I make the dough every time when we make pizza (about once a week) and it never came out crumbly. It’s elastic, moist, and pliable. What happens when you simply add more almond milk? I hope you will give it another try. 🙂
Kind regards,
Ela
Hi Ela,
I thank you for your response! 🙂 I definitely will and your suggestion is greatly appreciated.
Best wishes,
Carolyn
You are very welcome, Carolyn. 🙂
Hi Ela,
I tried this recipe with a different plant milk. I used walnut milk instead of almond-both were higher fat. I found the walnut much more successful! I am wondering, too, if my apartment is very dry and warm. Im thinking that could make it require more milk. Either way, it turned out great! A definite keeper!
Thank you for your patience with me as I am a fan. I appreciate it.
Stay healthy,
Carolyn 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing, Carolyn! It definitely can be possible that the dry air played a role. I live in the tropics and it’s very humid here.
So happy it now turned out great. Take care and stay safe. 🙂
Much love,
Ela
Same thing here, crumble dough and I used almond milk.
I only have instant yeast. Could I use that?
Yes, that’s fine! 🙂
What plant base milk do you use
I used coconut milk but you can you any plant-based milk.
Hi Ela, could I replace rice flour with almond flour?
Thanks in advance!
I doubt it would turn out well but I never tried it. Please report back if you give it a try. 🙂
Made this tonight for dinner and it was perfect! I have been searching for a good GF pizza crust for some time now. Thank you for perfecting this one and for sharing it. It was soft on the inside, crispy on the outside and not mushy in the middle, thank goodness. It was also sturdy and handled all the toppings well so we could eat it with our hands. I added 1 tsp each of dried oregano, dried basil, and garlic powder to the crust for the extra Italian flavors. Loaded the top with sauteed veggies. It made a scrumptious meal. Thanks again for your hard work in developing and sharing your awesome recipes.
You are very welcome dear! I am glad you enjoyed the pizza. 🙂 Adding dried oregano, dried basil, and garlic powder to the crust is a lovely idea.
I’d like to make this pizza. Can it be made freezer friendly?
Hello Barbara, to be honest, I never tried freezing the dough. It might turn out fine but I can’t say for sure. Please report back if you give it a try. 🙂